Tamron announces the development of a revolutionary new 150-600mm Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens for full-frame and APS-C format DSLR cameras

November 7, 2013, Saitama, Japan – Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Morio Ono), a leading manufacturer of precision optics, has announced the development of an innovative ultra-telephoto zoom lens with a focal length range of 150mm to 600mm for full-frame and APS-C format DSLR cameras. The lens sample will be on display in showcase at the Tamron booth at the Salon de la Photo 2013 which will be held from November 7 to 11 in Paris, France.

Tamron’s previously announced 200-500mm (Model A08), still currently available, is a popular, compact, easy-to-use ultra-telephoto zoom lens, but customers have shown great interest in having a lens that provide an even greater focal length range.

Its 4x ultra-telephoto zoom capabilities, with a focal length range from 150mm to 600mm, enhance the creative potential of telephoto photography, a captivating feature for all photographers, particularly nature, wildlife, and sports shooters.

SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A011)

Product Highlights

4x ultra-telephoto zoom lens with a focal length range of 150mm to 600mm

The focal length range of this lens was extended by 50mm on the wide-angle side and 100mm on the telephoto side compared to the existing model (Model A08), making it possible to take even more striking photographs of birds, wildlife, sports, and other distant subjects. Mounted on APS-C DSLR cameras, it has a stunning equivalent focal length range of 233mm to 930mm, almost to 1000mm.

World class image quality

Employing 20 elements in 13 groups and boasting an advanced optical design, it delivers a superior balance of resolution and contrast for sharp, clear images. The front group contains three LD ( Low Dispersion) glass elements (two in the first group, one in the third) for enhanced optical correction effectiveness, enabling the lens to thoroughly compensate for on-axis aberrations at the telephoto end. The lens also adopts eBAND Coating*¹, developed from state-of-the-art coating technologies, and conventional BBAR(Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) Coating to greatly suppress ghosting and flare even when shooting under adverse lighting conditions.

Achieves a 600mm focal length in a compact easy-to-handle package

Ingenious optical design features minimize the movement of lens groups within the lens when zooming. This reduces the amount of barrel extension needed to cover the complete focusing range, making the entire lens more compact.

Beautiful background blur effects

Adopting a 9 blade circular diaphragm enables users to create beautiful background blur effects (bokeh), which provide even greater potential for creative expression. This circular diaphragm retains a nearly circular shape even at two stops down from its maximum aperture.

Tamron’s new SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD features a USD ( Ultrasonic Silent Drive) ultrasonic motor drive*³ for swift and accurate AF response, it delivers high torque, very fast response times, and very low noise. The full-time manual focus mechanism allows users to make fine manual focus adjustments at any time even when AF is engaged.

New elegant, high-class external finish

Tamron has upgraded the cosmetic design and finish of this lens to create a more sophisticated, high-end look in keeping with the demands of discerning full-frame DSLR users.

Employing a sophisticated linear pattern rubber grip on the zoom and focus rings and an attractive and stylish tungsten silver name-brand ring, this newly designed model accentuates its visceral presence with understated elegance and class.

Easy-to-use tripod mount

The tripod mount has been completely redesigned to provide superior stability, durability, ease of use, and portability.

The SILKYPIX Developer Studio software can develop high-quality images from RAW data, incorporating adjustments that can express the personal style and taste of the photographer. These include white balance, color, sharpness, and the tonal curves recorded by digital cameras.

The SILKYPIX Developer Studio for Tamron provides a range of functions, in addition to the basic adjustment capabilities, such as correcting aberrations (chromatic aberrations of magnification, distortion, peripheral light fall-off), based on the optical data. Used in tandem with Tamron’s SP series lenses – renowned for their high-depiction capability – this advanced technology efficiently produces images that meet photographers’ most exacting demands.

That is a good point. My guess will be about 570mm. I'm interested in seeing the price on this baby. I don't do a lot of super tele distance shooting, so if this can be had for a reasonable ($2000 dollar) range, I might go for it. Fortunately for me, I'll probably get a chance to use and review it from Tamron before I have to make a decision.

For me, the big question is how well autofocus will work, particularly since most Canon's have an F5.6 AF limit.....

All of the 3rd party f/6.3 'spoof' the camera into thinking they're at f/5.6, so AF works fine. Well, I guess I should say Af works as well as possible, given that most 3rd party lenses aren't known for having good AF performance.

For me, the optics are the big question. I know 'world class image quality' is going to fall short of my Canon 600/4L IS II, but how far short? If the IQ is decent (Tamron did a good job with the 24-70/2.8 VC), the AF doesn't suck, and the lens is priced decently, this will be a big benefit to many telephoto shooters.

For me, the big question is how well autofocus will work, particularly since most Canon's have an F5.6 AF limit.....

For me, the optics are the big question. I know 'world class image quality' is going to fall short of my Canon 600/4L IS II, but how far short? If the IQ is decent (Tamron did a good job with the 24-70/2.8 VC), the AF doesn't suck, and the lens is priced decently, this will be a big benefit to many telephoto shooters.

I agree. If the optics are "good enough", I might be tempted to forsake a canon 100-400 for the extra reach and put up with the loss of a third of a stop in poor light and jack up the ISO if needed. Circa 200mm extra on safari could prove very useful.

Since I could never, ever afford a 500 or 600 prime, this would be great for me if the optics were sharp enough. But I am very dubious that a lens with that long of a zoom range could be very sharp. What I would really like to see is for Sigma to produce a new version of their discontinued 500 f/7.2 lens. Although I never used one, it was very inexpensive and I am sure they could make it very sharp as a fixed lens. With the excellent high ISO of today's cameras and the inherently shallow depth of field at 500mm, not all of us need an f/4. (Plus the size is much more manageable).